SD School Progress Steady

     PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The South Dakota Education Department says
94 percent of the state's public school districts made adequate
yearly progress under the federal education improvement law, down 1
percentage point from a year ago.
     About 64,500 students in grades 3-8 and 11 were tested to
measure progress as required under the federal law known as No
Child Left Behind. The report issued Tuesday says 77 percent of the
students were proficient in math, up 1 percentage point from last
year. Proficiency in reading was 75 percent, down 1 percentage
point from the previous year.
     South Dakota is using last year's targets for proficiency.
     School districts or individual schools that do not make adequate
progress for two consecutive years are considered in "school
improvement." This year 95 individual schools are on that list.